Charlie Kaufman can lay claim to writing one of the most original,
whimsical films ever made, "Being John Malkovich." Now, he's topped
himself with the clever, outrageously funny script for "Adaptation,"
his second collaboration with "Being John Malkovich" director Spike
Jonze. In "Adaptation," Hollywood scribe Charlie Kaufman is hired to
adapt the unorthodox nonfiction best-seller, "The Orchid Thief" by
Susan Orlean, for the screen. But anxious Charlie, played by Nicolas
Cage, suffers a crippling case of writer's block and can't figure out
how to turn the book into a filmable screenplay. Compounding his
misery, his twin brother Donald, a self-indulgent goofball, decides
to become a screenwriter and swiftly finds success. As Charlie takes
refuge in fantasy, his script for "The Orchid Thief" turns more and
more demented, and real life and art begin to blur together. This is
a brilliant, playful movie about the impetus and agony of creation
with dazzling performances by Cage as the twins, Meryl Streep as
Orlean and Chris Cooper as the orchid expert who inspired Orlean's
book. Tilda Swinton, Maggie Gyllenhaal and Brian Cox co-star.